Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently
abused illicit drug in Arkansas. Most of the marijuana available in the
state is produced in Mexico, although some cannabis is cultivated locally.
Mexican criminal groups, local independent dealers, and street gangs
transport marijuana into Arkansas in private and commercial vehicles.
Mexican criminal groups and local independent dealers are the primary
wholesale- and retail-level marijuana distributors in the state. Street
gangs also distribute marijuana at the retail level. Marijuana typically
is distributed at the retail level from bars, strip clubs, schools,
parking lots, residences, businesses, and at concerts.

Law enforcement officials in Arkansas report that there are high
levels of marijuana abuse throughout the state. Of the 24 Arkansas law
enforcement respondents to the NDTS 2002, 19 indicated that marijuana abuse was
high in their jurisdictions, and 5 indicated that abuse was moderate. The
percentage of Arkansas residents who report having abused marijuana in the past
month is statistically comparable to the percentage nationwide. According to
combined data from the 1999 and the 2000 NHSDA, 3.9 percent of Arkansas
residents aged 12 and over reported having abused marijuana in the year prior to
the survey compared to 4.8 percent of individuals nationwide.

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in Arkansas.
According to TEDS, the number of marijuana-related treatment admissions to
publicly funded facilities in Arkansas increased 36 percent from 2,230 in 1998
to 3,030 in 2002. Arkansas Department of Health statistics indicate
that the number of marijuana-related treatment admissions increased 41 percent
from 2,588 in SFY1998 to 3,652 in SFY2002. (See Table 1 in Overview
section.) (Disparities between
federal and state reporting on admissions to substance abuse treatment programs
likely occur because of differences in data collection and reporting
methodologies.)

Marijuana abuse among Arkansas youth is statistically comparable
to the national percentage. According to the 2001 YRBS, 43.6 percent of students
in grades 9 through 12 in Arkansas reported having used marijuana at least once
in their lifetime, compared to 42.4 percent nationwide.

Marijuana produced in Mexico, particularly
commercial-grade marijuana, is the most widely available type of the drug
in the state. Marijuana produced in Arkansas also is available. According
to the NDTS 2002, of the 24 law enforcement respondents in Arkansas, 21
indicated that marijuana availability was high in their jurisdictions, and
3 indicated that availability was moderate.

Seizure data reflect the ready availability of marijuana
in Arkansas. According to FDSS data, federal law enforcement officials in
Arkansas seized 1,149.6 kilograms of marijuana in 1998, 1,273.2 kilograms
in 1999, 1,856.6 kilograms in 2000, 2,281.1 kilograms in 2001, and 1,330.1
kilograms in 2002. Law enforcement authorities who reported to Operation
Pipeline seized over 4,327 kilograms of marijuana in 2000 and over 1,325
kilograms in 2001.

The percentage of marijuana-related sentences in Arkansas
is significantly less than the national percentage. According to USSC
data, in FY2001 12 percent of drug-related federal sentences in Arkansas
were for marijuana-related offenses, compared with 33 percent nationally.
There were 49 federal sentences for marijuana violations in Arkansas in
FY1997, 44 in FY1998, 26 in FY1999, 13 in FY2000, and 20 in FY2001.

Marijuana prices in Arkansas are relatively stable
throughout the state. According to the DEA New Orleans Division, in the
fourth quarter of FY2002 marijuana sold for $1,000 per pound and $120 per
ounce in Fayetteville, $800 to $900 per pound and $100 to $140 per ounce
in Little Rock, and $900 to $1,300 per pound and $120 per ounce in Fort
Smith.

Violence has been associated with marijuana production and
distribution in Arkansas, but to a limited extent. Domestic cannabis growers
sometimes are armed and use booby traps to protect their cultivation sites from
law enforcement authorities. Firearms occasionally are seized from cannabis
growing sites in Arkansas. Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP)
statistics indicate that law enforcement officials in Arkansas seized 87 weapons
in 1997, 88 in 1998, 66 in 1999, 69 in 2000, and 42 in 2001 during cannabis
eradication operations. Respondents to the NDIC National Gang Survey
2000 reported that many street gangs that distribute marijuana in Arkansas also
commit violent crimes in the state such as assault, auto theft, drive-by
shooting, and homicide. These gangs include the Young Oriental Gangsters in Fort
Smith, Piru in Jonesboro, numerous sets of Bloods in Little Rock, Mara
Salvatrucha in Rogers, and 18th Street in West Memphis.

Most of the marijuana available in Arkansas is produced in
Mexico; however, some cannabis is cultivated throughout the state, primarily by
local independent Caucasian growers. In most areas of the state, cannabis is
cultivated at outdoor grow sites; however, indoor cultivation sites have been
encountered by law enforcement officers throughout Arkansas.

In May 2002 law enforcement personnel in Greene County seized 36
cannabis plants and two firearms (one of which had the serial number removed)
and arrested one individual who had a prior felony drug conviction. The cannabis
plants were found in four containers outside the residence.

Source: Greene County Sheriff's Office.

Outdoor cannabis growers often conceal plants in an effort to
avoid detection by law enforcement authorities. Cannabis cultivators often
scatter the plants among other crops, use camouflage netting, and establish
cultivation sites in remote wooded locations. In August 2002 law enforcement
authorities in Cross County, acting on a tip from a helicopter pilot, eradicated
nearly 2,500 cannabis plants from an outdoor grow site. The plants were
discovered concealed among a rice crop on an island. According to the Cross
County Sheriff's Office, the plants were well-maintained and the landowner was
not involved in the cultivation operation. This was the largest marijuana
seizure ever in Cross County.

Mexican criminal groups are the primary transporters of
wholesale quantities of Mexico-produced marijuana into and through Arkansas.
Local independent dealers, primarily Caucasians, and street gangs also transport
marijuana into the state. These transporters generally smuggle the drug into
Arkansas from Mexico, California, and southwestern states.

Marijuana typically is transported into Arkansas in hidden
compartments in private and commercial vehicles, and occasionally by couriers on
buses, via the same routes used to transport methamphetamine and cocaine.
Transporters use a variety of means to conceal marijuana during transportation,
including boxes, metal containers, duffel bags, suitcases, and compartments
installed in the side panels, floors, and tailgates of vehicles. Transporters
also intermingle marijuana with legitimate items such as produce or conceal the
drugs in luggage. Marijuana typically is wrapped in layers of cellophane and
duct tape and covered in mustard or coffee grounds to mask the odor of the drug.

Arkansas is a transit state for marijuana shipments destined for
drug markets throughout the United States. According to EPIC 2001 Operation
Pipeline data, 27 of the 29 shipments of marijuana seized from vehicles on
Arkansas highways were destined for other states. Marijuana transported via I-30
and I-40 through Arkansas primarily from California and Texas generally is
destined for states in the Midwest and along the East Coast. In April 2002
Arkansas State Police in Crawford County seized 200 pounds of marijuana and
arrested the driver of a commercial truck traveling on I-40 who was transporting
the drug from California to New Jersey. The officer at the scene had become
suspicious after discovering discrepancies in the driver's log book and
receipts. Upon searching the vehicle he found nine cardboard boxes
containing 11 bundles of marijuana inside the cab of the truck.

Marijuana Seized Along Interstate 40

In February 2003 Arkansas State Police officers seized 2,669
pounds of marijuana, with an estimated retail value of $3 million, from a
recreational vehicle traveling east on I-40 near Clarksville during a routine
traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle was stopped for a license plate
violation and because the vehicle was impeding traffic by driving too slowly in
the left lane. The responding officer became suspicious when the driver appeared
nervous and because the vehicle was not registered in the driver's name. Prior
to the search of the vehicle and the arrival of backup officers, the driver, a
31-year-old male, fled on foot. Seventeen boxes of marijuana were discovered
stacked in the bedroom of the recreational vehicle. The marijuana was compressed
into 464 bricks weighing 4 to 10 pounds each and wrapped in multiple layers of
cellophane. Some of the boxes were marked with a reverse swastika symbol, the
letter C, and a bull's-eye symbol. More than 15 pounds of coffee beans and
ground coffee were strewn about the interior of the vehicle to mask the odor of
the marijuana. The vehicle was en route from Yuma, Arizona, and allegedly was
traveling to Hickory, North Carolina.

Mexican criminal groups and local independent dealers, mostly
Caucasians, are the primary wholesale distributors of Mexico-produced marijuana
in Arkansas. Caucasian local independent dealers are the primary wholesale
distributors of marijuana produced in the state.

Mexican criminal groups and local independent dealers distribute
Mexico-produced and locally produced marijuana at the retail level in Arkansas.
Street gangs such as Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples, and Vice Lords also
serve as retail distributors of marijuana. At the retail level
marijuana typically is packaged in sandwich bags and sold at bars, strip clubs,
schools, parking lots, residences, businesses, and at concerts.